Bowling apparatus



Dec. 6, 1960 c. F. PEARL BOWLING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 1, 1959 FIG.3

INVENTORJ CURTIS F. PEARL,

I I 'IL v ATTORNEY.

Dec. 6, 1960 Filed Dec. 1, 1959 C. F. PEARL BOWLING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet'Z INVENTOR, CURTIS F. PEARL,

BY/{W ATTORNEY- United States Patent BOWLING APPARATUS Curtis F. Pearl, 1090 Emerson Ave., West Englewood, NJ.

Filed Dec. 1, 1959, Ser. No. 856,523

16 Claims. (Cl. 273-427) The present invention relates to bowling apparatus and more particularly to the type having captive pins.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved captive pin bowling apparatus affording automatic resetting of the pins by a simple manipulation of but a single member.

Another object thereof is to provide a novel and improved bowling apparatus of the character described, which can be made for professional play or as a childrens toy.

A further object thereof is to provide a novel and improved captive pin bowling apparatus of the kind set forth, which is simple in construction, reasonable in cost, easy to use and efficient in carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

For the practice of this invention, one form it may assume, may comprise upright framework to stand on the floor and a pair of spaced horizontal frame members, one above the other on the upright framework; said frame members being movable, one towards the other. In the embodiment illustrated herein, the lower one is fixed and the upper one is slidably mounted. Springs keep said frame members apart.

The lower frame piece is above clear floor space and has swingably depending therefrom, a series of bowling pin members which normally are vertical and in such position, said pin members are in empirical formation, either resting on the floor or they extend to a bit above the floor, and in any event, a distance less than the diameter of the ball used to play the game. The axes of swing of all the pins are parallel to the line between sides of the player facing them.

Each pin may be a hollow shell constituting the front longitudinal half of the usual bowling pin form, with opposite laterally extending pintles at the top thereof, to serve as the axis means for pin swing. These pintles have their aligned axes in or near the back plane of such shell and there may be a stop element on the fixed frame piece to hold a vertically positioned bowling pin member from forward swing movement, although in the construction shown, such stop means is not required. Each pin is associated with an elastic cord or the like, which is anchored at one end to the bottom of the pin member, passes through the shell which is the pin member, lying through an opening in the top of the pin member which it can leave laterally and extends through a hole in the fixed frame piece and finally its upper end is anchored to the movable frame piece. The length of said elastic cord is such that it is stressed in tension when the pin it is associated with is in upright position and the distance between the horizontal frame pieces is such th t upon downward movement of the movable frame piece towards the fixed frame piece, the associated pin will assume upright position. Now upon release of the movable frame piece, said elastic cord will again become stressed in tension. Upon being hit by the ball, the pin will swing up- Patented Dec. 6, 1960 wardly rearwardly and will remain in such position, for the cord will become inactive and will hold the pin against downward forward swing until the upper frame piece is lowered.

In a modified embodiment illustrated herein, the bowling pins, in addition to the manner of swing above set forth, are permitted also to swing on axes in angular relation to the line between the sides of the player in front of them. This permits a moving pin to hit pins to the side of it and hence the play in bowling called a strike, meaning all the pins are moved in this apparatus, to a swung-up position, is made possible. For this modified constructiomthe only change is in the pin structure and its mounting for swinging movement on the lower frame piece. Here, the pintles are on the lower frame piece and each bowling pin, at each of its sides has an inverted triangular cut-out; such cut-outs being opposite one another and the pintles extend into them respectively; the bowling pins being hollow. Such cut-outs are near the very top of the pin and there is a suitable hole through the very top of the pin, for the elastic cord of a size sufficient to allow all pin movements. When the bowling pin is at rest, its associated pintles bear in the vertices which are lowest of said triangular cut outs in the pin, since the action of the elastic cord will cause this.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Fig. l is a perspective view showing a bowling apparatus embodying the teachings of this invention. Only some of the bowling pin members are shown here, in order to attain clarity of illustration. In this embodiment, the axes of swing of all the bowling pins, are parallel and in constant direction.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken at lines 2-2 in Fig. 1, showing a bowling pin member in upright position at which time its associated flexible cord is in stretched condition.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of a bowling pin member drawn to the scale of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view like Fig. 2, but showing the bowling pin member in raised position after it was hit by the ball. In play with this apparatus, a pin member in raised position is deemed the fallen pin in ordinary bowling.

Fig. 6 is a view like Fig. 2, utilizing a modified construction for the bowling pin structure and its mounting by pintles extending from the underside of the lower frame piece.

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the bowling pin included in Fig. 6, drawn to the same scale.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of Fig 7.

In the drawing, the bowling apparatus indicated generally by the numeral 15, comprises a framework of two spaced similar units, each made up of a base 16 having a pair of spaced vertical posts 17. These units stand on the floor and offer clear space between them for the bowling pin members 18 which are swingably suspended from a horizontal frame piece which may be the plate 19 secured to said posts by for instance the pins 20, so that such plate is some distance below the upper ends of said posts 17. Above this fixed plate 19, there is another frame member which may be the plate 21 which is slidable along said posts. The compression coil springs 22 about said posts, between the members 19 and 21, normally hold the upper member 21 up against the stop pins 23 at the upper ends of said posts. To mount said bowling pin members 18, each is provided at its top end with thealigned, laterally extending pintles 24 which rotatably fit into aligned holes 25 in opposite walls of a rearwardly and downwardly open box structure 26 serving as bearings therefor. When the bowling pin memhers 18 are upright, they are in the usual format used in bowling. All the axes of swing of said bowling pins are parallel to the line from side to side of a player in front of them.

In the embodiment illustrated, each pin 18'is a hollow shell constituting the front longitudinal half of a usual bowling pin form, including a hollow upward extension which is the channel piece 27 carrying the pintles 24. When a bowling pin 18 is upright, the vertical plane through the common axis of the pintles 24 is rearward of the center of gravity of the bowling pin and so is the lower point 28 of attachment of an elastic cord 29 to the bottom of said pin, and likewise is the hole 30 in the plate member 19, through which said elastic cord is laced. The upper end of said elastic cord is anchored by a tapered pin 31 in a hole in the upper plate 21, through which hole said cord extends and is accessible. When the bowling pin 18 is upright, said cord is in tensed condition and the stress therein can be adjusted by pulling up or lowering the cord end 32 by loosening and then resetting the anchor pin 31. Though found unnecessary, a stop pin 33 may be provided to assure no forward upward swing of the bowling pin 18, when such pin is in upright position. It is important that the construction of the bowling pin be such that the elastic cord 29 is free to move laterally rearwardly. When a bowling pin 18 is hit by a ball to cause it to swing upwardly rearwardly, such pin will assume the position shown in Fig. 5, which shall be deemed knocked down position of the bowling pin. In such position, the elastic cord 29 is inactive. The bowling pin 18 in position of Fig. 2, when hit by a ball, will swing upwardly rearward y due to the impact, but as soon as the line of the elastic cord 29 passes the axis of the pintles 24, said cord will continue such motion of the bowling pin to the position shown in Fig. 5.

Though the elastic cord may still be stressed while the bowling pin 18 is in its raised position shown in Fig. 5, pushing down on the plate 21 will loosen all the elastic members 29, whereupon all the raised pins 18 will swing downwardly forwardly to upright position, due to the action of gravity. Now, upon release of said plate 21, the tensed springs 22 will raise it to its uppermost position and all the elastic members 29 will automatically become tensed, which is the condition shown in Figs. 1 and 2. All the bowling pins 18 are thus reset for play to begin again.

For a toy construction, it is suggested that the bases 16 and the bowling pins 18 be of cast plastic material and the plates 19, 21 may be of panel board or also of cast plastic with suitable openings (not shown) between regions where the elastic members 29 pass through so as to lighten and use a minimum of material for this item. The posts 17 may be of tubular metal stock. As thus suggested, the construction would be very economical to manufacture, and the parts may be of difierent colors respectively to make the article decorative.

In the specific embodiment shown in Figs. 1-5 above described, the axes of swing of all the bowling pins 18, are parallel. If desired said axes may be in such angular relation respectively, that upon the upswing of one bowling pin, it would hit another to the side of it. Although this is not specifically shown,those versed in the mechanical arts can readily apprehend same without further illustration.

However, for a modified construction in which the bowling pins may swing in many directions upwardly rearwardly, I provide the structure shown in the Figs. 6-8. Here, if a ball hits a pin not due straight rearward on its front surface, the pin will swing upwardly sidewardly rearwardly, and hit a pin which is to the side of it, thus affording the possibility of scoring a strike. The change is in the bowling pin structure and its mounting onto the underside of the lower frame piece 19. The bowling pin, here denoted generally by the numeral 18a which is hollow, has a pair of opposite cut outs 35, 35 in its sides respectively; each such cut out is considerably larger in area than the cross-section of the pintle extending therein and each cut out at its bottom edge offers an open bearing for its associated pintle to bear against and permit the bowling pin to rotate about such pintle. I prefer that each such cut out be in the shape of an inverted triangle. Due to the tension in the associated elastic cord 29, the pintles 36, 37 on the lower side of the lower frame piece 19, which set into said cut outs respectively, will bear in the respective open bearings offered by the lower vertices of said cut outs. There is thus provided freedom of movement for the bowling pin 18a to swing upwardly, straight back and in many directions sidewise backwardly. The hole 38 through the very top of the bowling pin is of course large enough to permit such varied movements to clear the elastic cord 29. If a ball strikes a pin 18a sidewise, such pin will swing up sidewise and hit a pin to the side of the ball-struck pin. This may cause a chain reaction and few or even all of the bowling pins may be moved.

The lengths of the pintles 36, 37 are enough to avoid their disassociation from the bowling pin member 10a and if desired, the lower frame piece 19' may be fashioned with part-spherical cavities as 39 to complete a sort of ball joint with the spherical-shaped tip of the bowling pin 1811.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applications without departing from the essential features herein disclosed. It is therefore intended and desired that the embodiments shown herein be deemed merely illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to the following claims rather than to the specific description herein to indicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a bowling apparatus, a framework to be positioned upwardly from a floor, two normally spaced frame members carried on said framework, one above the other and the lower one extending substantially horizontally above the floor; one of said frame members being movable towards and away from the other, means urging said frame members apart to their normal spacing, one or more spaced members arranged in a predetermined format, serving as bowling pins; each bowling pin being swingably suspended from the lower frame member, free to swing upwardly rearwardly and being normally in substantially upright position; the lower frame member being provided with one hole for each of the respective bowling pins and an elongated elastic member, one for each bowling pin, secured at one of its ends to the upper frame member and depending therefrom through a mentioned hole and anchored at its other end to a bowling pin at a point which is below the axis of swing of such pin; each elastic member being free to move laterally rearwardly away from the center of gravity of the pin it is associated with; the center of gravity of each bowling pin being forwardly of its axis of swing, forwardly of that portion of the elastic member which is along the pin and forwardly of the hole through which said elastic member extends in the lower frame member; each elastic member being in tensed condition while the bowling pin it is associated with, is downwardly of a predetermined rearwardly upward position.

2. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the movable frame member is slidably mounted on the framework.

3. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the framework includes a plurality of upright posts; the fixed frame member being on said posts and the movable frame member being slidable along said posts.

4. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the axes of swing of all the pins are parallel.

5. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein each bowling pin member is a shell constituting the front longitudinal half of a bowling pin form.

6. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the point of attachment of the elastic member to a bowl ing pin is at the bottom region of said pin.

7. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 1, including means associated with an end of each elastic member, affording adjustment of the tension in the elastic member.

8. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the movable frame member is provided with a second hole for each elastic member and means on said movable frame member securing said elastic member in said second hole; said means being releasable from and then engageable with said second hole to allow manual adjustment of the tension of the associated elastic member by moving said elastic member through the second hole, upwardly to increase the tension and downwardly to decrease the tension.

9. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said means holding the elastic member in the second hole, is a plug which is removably set into said hole in the movable frame member. 7

10. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 1, including stop means on the fixed frame member holding each bowling pin from swinging upwardly forwardly when the pin is in substantially upright position.

11. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein one of the frame members is fixed to the framework.

12. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the lower frame member is fixed to the framework.

13. In a bowling apparatus, a framework to be positioned upwardly from a floor, two normally spaced frame members carried on said framework, one above the other and the lower one extending substantially horizontally above the fioor; one of said frame members being movable towards and away from the other, means urging said frame members apart to their normal spacing, one or more spaced members arranged in a predetermined format, serving as bowling pins; each bowling pin having opposite cut outs in its outer surface near the top end thereof; each such cut out presenting an open hearing under its associated pintle for the pintle to set in and when so set, the bowling pin can swing about said pintle as an axis, pairs of aligned pintles, one pair for each bowling pin, carried on the underside of the lower frame member and extending respectively into one of said cut outs of each bowling pin respectively; the crosssectional area of each pintle being comparatively small in respect to the area of its associated cut out whereby the bowling pins may move in many directions; said pintles continuing in association with a bowling pin regardless of the direction of swing of the bowling pin mounted thereon respectively; each bowling pin being swingable about its related pintles, lifted upwardly therefrom and lowered thereon and being normally in substantially upright position; the lower frame member being provided with one hole for each of the respective bowling pins and an elongated elastic member, one for each bowling pin, secured at one of its ends to the upper frame member and depending therefrom through one of said holes and anchored at its other end to a bowling pin at a point which is below the axis of swing of said pin; the elastic member being free to move laterally rear-. wardly and laterally sidewise of its associated pin away from the center of gravity of the pin it is associated with; the center of gravity of each pin being forwardly of the axes of its associated pintles, forwardly of that portion of the elastic member which lies along the pin and forwardly of the hole through which said elastic member extends in the lower frame member, each elastic member being in tensed condition while the bowling pin it is associated with, is downwardly of a predetermined rearwardly upward position.

14. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein all the pintles are parallel.

15. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein each of said cut outs which have a pintle extending therein, is the shape of an inverted triangle substantially.

16. A bowling apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein the upper end of each bowling pin has a part spherical outer surface and including part spherical sockets which are at most semi-spherical in the underside of the lower frame member; each top end of the bowling pins fitting in one of said sockets respectively.

References Cited in the file of this patent Great Britain Apr. 3, 1936 

